Trend Micro reports record growth in ransomware attacks

The company Trend Micro, specializing in the development of solutions in the field of cybersecurity, published a report with detailed information on the number of virus attacks on user devices in 2019. Ransomware was recognized as the most dangerous type of malware, “familiarity” with which often results in a loss of money for PC owners.

Last year, malware belonging to the ransomware class retained the status of one of the largest threats. In general, Trend Micro noted a 10% increase in the number of detections of this type of software compared to 2018, although the number of new families of such viruses decreased by 57%.

The main goal of hackers remains the health sector, in which more than 700 organizations have suffered over the past year. In addition, at least 110 state and municipal institutions have become victims of cyber attacks in the United States. Russia continues to lead in the number of ransomware viruses detected in Eastern Europe – it accounts for 4.15% of the total number of ransomware. For comparison, 0.92% of the total number of virus incidents was recorded in Ukraine, 0.11% in Azerbaijan, and 0.04% of the total number of infections in Kazakhstan.

“The term“ digital transformation ”has remained popular in the business environment for more than a dozen years, and over time, this strategy really brings tangible results. But for many companies, information security is far from the first place. This creates an ideal environment for cybercriminals, whose ransomware programs can quickly and without any problems bring them profit. And until the situation changes, such software will not lose its position, ”said John Clay, head of international communications in the field of cyber threats Trend Micro.

To increase the profitability of ransomware viruses, in 2019, cybercriminals even began to work together. For example, with the help of the Sodinokibi virus, a series of coordinated attacks were launched against 22 units of local government agencies in Texas, and the total ransom in this case reached $ 2.5 million.

Also, these attacks have become an example of a new hacker approach called access-as-a-service, that is, selling or leasing access to the network infrastructure of companies to other attackers. For amounts from $ 3 to $ 20,000, attackers offered various services, up to the possibility of full access to servers and corporate VPNs.

A Trend Micro study found that Russia is in the top 15 countries by the number of detected types of viral mobile applications. If compared with other countries of Eastern Europe, then among them Russia is also the leader, and Ukraine takes the second place. By the number of cases of fraud using corporate electronic correspondence, Russia is on the fourth line of the rating – 3.9% of global indicators. In the first positions are the USA, China and Brazil. 1.3% fall to Ukraine, less than 0.5% of recorded cases to Kazakhstan. At the same time, in terms of the number of Bot Microservers detected by Trend Micro solutions, the Russian Federation ranks second – 14.6% of the global number. The United States predictably more – 17.2%.

To protect against attacks in modern conditions, Trend Micro recommends the use of integrated systems that combine the protection of gateways, networks, servers and end devices.